An elderly woman was rushed to hospital in serious condition after being hit by an SUV while using a crosswalk in Saanich on Friday morning.
The crash happened at the Gorge Road and Admirals Road intersection around 8:25 am. Saanich police say the SUV failed to stop at a red light and hit the woman as she stepped off the sidewalk to cross Admirals Road towards the Gorge.
One witness tells Victoria Buzz he was travelling up Admirals Road toward Craigflower on his motorcycle in front of the SUV. The traffic light was yellow as he was approaching, and came to a stop for the red. Seconds later, he said the woman in the red SUV flew past him and through the intersection, striking the woman in the crosswalk.
“I am quite shaken up to be honest. If I had not got a glimpse of her red SUV in my mirror and moved ever so much to my left to see what it was that I was seeing she would have hit my handle bars and I would have been under her truck as well,” the witness said.
The woman was hit in the head by the side mirror, police say.
“There was no medical issue, I believe she was looking at her phone,” the witness added.
Police confirmed the pedestrian had the right of way. The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash remained on scene and is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
The woman was taken to Victoria General Hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. She was out walking her dog at the time and police say her dog wasn’t injured.
Charges are pending as the investigation continues.
We've been able to open traffic up a little however it will be VERY slow #yyjtraffic https://t.co/tpwt2PYvqO
— Saanich Police (@SaanichPolice) August 12, 2016
Saanich Police are requesting that everyone avoid the area for the next several hours.
